Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board to develop parallel call centre

The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board has announced that it has selected Spherix Incorporated of Beltsville, Maryland, to provide parallel call centre support services to the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) for Federal employees.

The new call centre will complement current services provided by the Department of Agriculture's National Finance Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The Board recently implemented a new automated TSP record keeping system which moved the TSP from a monthly-valued plan to a daily-valued plan. The new system, daily valuation, and growth in the Plan have increased the number of calls and participant inquiries. As a result, additional call centre support is required. This requirement, as well as the need to ensure coverage in the event of a disaster that would close the NFC call centre, prompted the issuance last November of a request for proposals from qualified firms to establish a complementary parallel call centre.

One requirement is that the parallel call centre be established in an area of the country that will not be susceptible to weather related disasters that may occur in the New Orleans area. Spherix call centres are located in both Cumberland and Beltsville, Maryland.

The parallel call centre will initially handle 20 percent of the current call volume and eventually handle 50 percent of all TSP phone traffic. A key element of the future operating plan is for each centre to provide disaster recovery relief for the other. The parallel call centre will therefore provide coverage of all calls in the event of a hurricane or other emergency that affects the NFC call centre operations.

•Date: 11th March 2004 •Region: N.America •Type: Article •Topic: Financial sector
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